IHF Bali Rocks!

by Murni, Work-Study, IHF Bali

If there’s one word to describe my first weekend in Bali center,  that would be productive. Like the old saying the early birds get the worm, the four of us, Dominika,  Liang, Naike and I (Murni) started the day early. On our rented motorbikes, we flocked to Ulakan Market for distributing brochure to the locals to introduce our educational program. We definitely reached more people as the market was crowded in the morning than any other time of the day. They asked questions about what we do and we explained to them patiently.  Indonesian is my first language, so I could tell they were genuinely interested;   it’s heartwarming to see people’s great enthusiasm of this good cause.

On our way back, we stopped by at a fisherman’s wharf. It was a wonderful place, with the scenery Padi field (rice plantation) on your right and left, the hill in front of you, and the sea behind you.

There’s a great path with no car or people for Naike and me to try a hand on motorbike. With collected courage and rushing adrenaline, we jumped on it and hit the gas! And it zoomed forward! KakNaike did a great job, alas for me, I couldn’t keep my balance and I fell. Ouch!! Luckily, there’s no serious wound. I would definitely try it again, next weekend maybe?

Afternoon was filled with sound of happy children visiting the Centre for our Special Project this week, Wood painting. We have the cut-out wood of various shapes for them to paint on. You could see how excited they were as they squeezed the paint paste out of its tube, colouring the wood plank with red, green, blue, yellow and purple. When they’re done, we glued them on the tree and Voila! Seeing their smile and joyful face really boosted our spirit! Isn’t it amazing how easy happiness spreads?

We headed out for another activity that could also uplift the soul. We joined the Yoga class in Candidasa for some stretching of our stiff muscles. Mr. Kawi, the instructor, showed us what Yoga is all about. What an experience for the first timer. It was relaxing, till we nearly fell asleep at the end of the session.

Indeed, there are so many things can take place in one day. The day was almost here, but I could still do one more cool thing that’s probably getting hard to do in the city where you come from, Stargaze! If you can, try to identify some constellations. With the countless of stars above me, the graciousness of the locals, and the eager children, I declare I have officially fallen in love with this place! IHF Bali rocks!